Who You Work With Matters More Than You Think

We all joke about our co-workers. We’re close to some, others drive us crazy, and a few seem outright evil. Since we spend so much of our lives working in the office, more and more studies show that who we work with has a huge impact, not only on our performance, but on our personal health. A recent study from Tel Aviv University tracked 820 workers for 20 years. They discovered that our co-workers impact our health more than the hours we work, the stress, or our boss. And it’s pretty serious – working with not-so-kind colleagues, actually increases our risk of dying. In fact, workers with little or no peer-support at the office were 2.4 times more likely to die during the study.

We already know that bad working situations for men are jobs where they have little or no say. Not so much for women – they actually do better with some lack of control on the job. But what’s becoming more and more clear is that who we work with matters.

Take a look at your office. Do your co-workers make it a joy to come to the office each day, or do you dread coming in the door?